Homeless

Chapter 21

Derek's POV

Danielle lets me take over the frosting as she gets started on the cupcakes for the day. In less than an hour, I've made 5 different frostings. I've never really been a dessert guy but working here is growing on me. It's neat to see all the flavor combinations come together.

I wrap the frostings in Saran Wrap and put them to the side.

"What else can I help with?"

"You're such a fast worker," Danielle says. "That would have taken me at least another hour. For now, do you want to fold up the boxes for today and place them behind the counter? I think I got the rest of the cupcake prep handled."

I shutter internally at the thought of having to interact with Lizzy and Anna but respond to Danielle with a simple "sure."

I start by folding 10 or so boxes at the kitchen counter. When I have a decent stack, I go through the door that separates the front of the shop from the back.

At the front of the shop, Anna is still decorating the menu and Lizzy is setting up the display case. I simply nod in their direction then stack the new boxes on the counter behind the display case.

I start to head back to the kitchen when Lizzy stops me.

"D!" She calls out to me. "Welcome to our bakery! I promise you don't have to be shy."

"Uhm, thanks," I say. I really don't want to interact with her but I can tell she wants to chat.

"Well tell us a little about yourself!"

"I'm not really big on sharing personal information," I respond.

"Well you can at least tell us where you're from," Lizzy says, batting her eyelashes.

I have to do a double take because it almost seems like she's flirting with me. 

"New York," I say in short. "I'm from the Financial District."

Lizzy nods approvingly and I quickly dip back into the kitchen to grab some more boxes.

Danielle is pulling a couple batches out of the oven and looks at me. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah," I say. "That Lizzy girl is a character."

"She's not giving you any problems, is she?"

"Not yet," I say. I grab the boxes and head back out to the front of the store.

The hours go by fast and by the time I know it, we are sold out of cupcakes and closing for the day. It's only 11am.

I help Anna wipe down the front windows, taking down our advertisements of today's flavors.

"So how was your first day with customers?" she asks.

"Not as bad as I thought it was going to be?" I respond. "Do you guys always sell out within two hours of opening?"

"Around the holidays, yeah. Other times of year, we usually still sell out but will be open for at least 4-5 hours.

"This is a popular place," I comment.

"Yeah," Anna says.

We finish cleaning the front window in silence. When we are done, we head to the kitchen to find Danielle doing some cleaning.

"Everything up front is done," Anna says. "Lizzy is just going to bring the till in to count and we'll be out of here."

"Awesome," Danielle says. "And you're free to head home Anna. I actually wanted to teach Derek how we do the till count so we'll handle that."

"Are you sure?" she asks.

"Mhm," Danielle says. "Thank you for all your help today."

Anna smiles. "For sure." She looks at me next. "Nice to meet you too Derek. Like, officially. I'm looking forward to working with you."

I give her a small smile before she grabs her stuff and heads out the backdoor.

A moment later, Lizzy comes through the kitchen door with a small bag of money and several pieces of paper.

"Perfect timing," Danielle says. "I want to teach D how to count the till."

"Oh! I already counted it," Lizzy says with a smile on her face.

"Lizzy, that's the second time that has happened. You know I like to be around for that and even if I'm not around, it needs to be both you and Anna." She looks at me. "The till count is a two person job," Danielle says. "We'll just count it again so you get the experience."

"Umm okay," Lizzy says, interrupting Danielle as she unzips the money bag. "I'll be right back. I coulda sworn I dropped a receipt walking over here."

I glance at Danielle as Lizzy exits the kitchen. She's already pulling everything out of the bag and doesn't see me staring.

"So we generally start with emptying the register into this bag at the end of the day," Danielle says. "And we keep this bag in the cupboard under the register. After that, inside the register, there's a button that allows you to print off all the card transactions and all the cash transactions. The card transactions aren't really a big deal but we print that and the cash receipts. You staple those together and then bring it all back here. Like I said, it's always a two person job and I do like to be there if I can."

I listen attentively as Danielle explains the details.

"Of course, all the cash in the till should match the cash receipts. Sometimes we will have a discrepancy of a few dollars and that's not necessarily a big deal. I've never had any issues."

I nod my head as I wonder what Danielle means by a few dollars.

"I knew I dropped something," Lizzy says, coming back into the kitchen. She is holding a paper receipt and $20. "This fell behind the register."

"I'm glad you double checked!" Danielle says. She takes the cash from Lizzy and adds it to the pile.

We count the till and everything matches up perfectly.

"And then when we are done, I add it to the safe to be picked up Sunday morning by the armoured truck. That's pretty much it."

"Seems simple enough," I say.

"Yup," Danielle says. "Well Lizzy, thanks for your help today. You're free to go."

"Yeah, no problem." Lizzy turns her attention to me. "Would you like to walk out together?"

I look at Danielle then back at Lizzy. "Uhh, it's okay," I say. "I'm actually gonna finish up some stuff in the supply room."

Lizzy believes my white lie and doesn't push the matter any further. "See you guys tomorrow."